From Vision to Action - by John Marks

About the Book

"Social entrepreneurs are people who launch ventures that they believe will promote positive change - locally, nationally, and/or globally. Their bottom line is not financial profit; rather, it is a commitment to improving the human condition. To this end, when seeking to change status quos that may benefit certain parties involved to the detriment of others, or exist because "that's the way things are," negotiation and the ability to resolve conflicts are essential skills Drawing on the author's NGO career leading Search for Common Ground, from using children's television to mitigate ethnic tensions in Macedonia to promoting mediation for conflict resolution in Morocco, this book will provide readers with an on-the-ground perspective on being a social entrepreneur. Readers will learn useful principles -- such as adapting to unexpected impasses or outcomes, communicating effective models and stories, and being transformationally incremental -- so that they can negotiate, resolve conflicts, and solve problems to successfully bring change"--

Book Synopsis

Social entrepreneurs are people who launch ventures aimed at promoting positive change in their community and the world. Their bottom line is not financial profit but the common good. Drawing on his extensive career, John Marks has written a practitioner's guide to the underlying principles of social entrepreneurship.

From Vision to Action offers a master class in effective negotiation and conflict resolution. It builds on a core strategy of understanding differences and acting on commonalities. Marks uses his own experiences of creating real-life breakthroughs during his time leading Search for Common Ground, which he founded and built with his wife, Susan Collin Marks, into the world's largest peacebuilding nonprofit. Beginning with an improbable effort to promote cooperation between the CIA and the KGB, this book features examples that range from helping prevent genocide in Burundi to using children's television to lessen ethnic tensions in Macedonia to creating a culture of mediation in Morocco. Readers learn key lessons, such as adapting to unexpected outcomes, communicating persuasive stories, and being incrementally transformational--or transformationally incremental. Bringing together compelling narratives and useful tools, From Vision to Action delivers practical guidance on building bridges and creating meaningful change.

Review Quotes

Exceptionally well written, organized and presented with 'real world' examples of what can be done by ordinary (an extraordinary!) people in the cause of peaceful change and social improvement.-- "Midwest Book Review"

Hats off to John Marks, who epitomizes what it means to be a social entrepreneur for peace. In this lively and lucid book, part manual, part memoir, Marks presents eleven savvy principles for success, illustrated with gripping stories from his pioneering work. May it inspire and inform a new generation of peace entrepreneurs!--William Ury, coauthor of Getting to Yes and author of Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict

In charting his extraordinary journey from "provocateur to peacemaker," John Marks proves that even the most divisive, distrusting, and dysfunctional players can discover common ground for resolving long-held and deeply embedded enmity. This book takes us on Marks's remarkable quest, from the tables of power in Washington, DC, to the shantytowns of Morocco's Sidi Moumen and from gifted problem-solver to world-changing social entrepreneur. It reinforces at each small step and giant leap that peacemaking can, in fact, remake the world.--Sally Osberg, former president, Skoll Foundation

John Marks has shown communities all over the world, time after time, how to turn hate-filled "us versus them" social conflicts into win-win collaborations. What could be more urgently needed now? This book tells you both how to do this and, more broadly, how you too can be a great social entrepreneur--addressing whatever social need you choose.--Bill Drayton, founder and CEO, Ashoka

This is a groundbreaking book meant for people who are really up to something and know that they have the capacity to make a difference to the long-term future of life. Anyone who picks up this book will be empowered by it and see the difference they can make by being bolder, more courageous, and more loving. The principles Marks outlines are absolutely brilliant and come from a lifetime of profound experience with some of the most powerful and challenging leaders on this planet. Buy this book, read it, and share it with as many people as possible. It's a master work from a master peacemaker. Marks is one of the most brilliant and authentic voices in today's world.--Lynne Twist, founder of the Soul of Money Institute and author of Living a Committed Life: Finding Freedom and Fulfillment in a Purpose Larger Than Yourself

A hopeful, transformational, and heuristic handbook of what's possible to help make our governments, governance, and society work.--John Steiner, cofounder of the Bridge Alliance and YOUnify

At last, a book that shows us how we can survive - maybe even thrive - in these dangerous, polarizing times. It shares practical wisdom drawn from his decades of experience proactively resolving conflicts and building peace in countries around the world. The rest of us now should stand up and follow his example.--Michael Wheeler, Chaired Professor of Management Practice (ret.), Harvard Business School

This book provides extraordinary insight into what it means to be a social entrepreneur.--Van Jones, CNN commentator and political activist

This book tells the inspiring story of an extraordinarily successful social activist who used the precepts of social entrepreneurship to deal with highly charged conflicts around the world.--Frank Ricciardone, former US Ambassador to the Philippines, Egypt, and Turkey

About the Author

John Marks is the founder of the renowned peacebuilding organization Search for Common Ground, which was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018. When he stepped down as its president after thirty-two years, the organization had a staff of six hundred full-time employees and offices in thirty-five countries. He is now the founder and managing director of Confluence International and a visiting scholar in peacebuilding and social entrepreneurship at Leiden University. Coauthor of the controversial New York Times best-seller The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence and the award-winning Search for the "Manchurian Candidate," Marks also founded Common Ground Productions and has produced TV series promoting nonviolent coexistence in twenty-five countries.